Garden rakes and other implements have been utilized for thousands of years. Most garden rakes consist of a pole attached to a raking mechanism. It is often difficult to use such rakes because they frequently cause splinters, abrasions or callouses in the hands of the users due to friction between the hands of the user and the pole. Many persons are forced to use heavy and uncomfortable gloves.
A number of patents and devices have been disclosed in the prior art for improving raking mechanisms and in particular, the ease of use of such mechanisms. A first category of prior art rakes include lawn rake devices which have slidable handles to control secondary or multiple rake heads for gathering or picking up leaves and debris. Examples of these patents are Tolliver, U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,536, entitled "Rake With Debris Pile Capacity"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,671, entitled "Rake". A second category of prior art patents includes rake devices which have slidable or rotatable mechanisms which permit the user to adjust the width or swath of a rake head by a time guide or tine stabilizer. Several of these devices also use the stabilizer as a self-cleaning mechanism for the rake. Examples of this category include McLeod, U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,515 and Huspen, U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,379.
A final category of prior art patents discloses the use of handles attached to garden tools to extend the reach of the tool or to provide additional leverage for lifting or pushing the garden tool. Examples of this category include Auernhammer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,764 and Davidson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,728.
Neither Auernhammer nor Davidson patents describe the use of rotatable or slidable handle on a garden tool. The purpose of the Auernhammer assembly is to allow a hedge clipper to be used for cutting lawn weeds at ground level. The Davidson invention is attached to a shovel or garden tool through a universal joint and simply provides a secondary leverage point for lifting, pushing or pulling the garden tool. None of the prior art devices disclose a rake or implement handle system which minimizes hand friction and wear.
It would be desirable to provide a garden rake which would facilitate the use of a rake by providing slidable and rotatable handles. The rake could therefore be used without undo friction or splinters on the hands of the user. The concepts of the present invention are equally applicable to numerous other garden and household implements such as brooms, mops, squeegees, hoes and the like. These and other objects of the present invention, become apparent from the following summary and detailed description which follow.